Two of the biggest adversaries in college basketball, Louisville and Kentucky are set to renew their rivalry on one of the grandest stages in the sport, the Sweet 16. Thanks to a thrilling victory over No. 1 seeded and previously undefeated Wichita State in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats – who brought home the 2012 National Championship – are eager to go up against the defending champion Cardinals, who are coached by former UK leader Rick Pitino. While it’s surely been fun to watch his team earn tough victories during the early portions of the tournament, Kentucky’s current head coach says the most satisfying thing is that his team came together at the perfect time, especially with a stacked Louisville squad up next.
“Our kids had to hear how bad they were, how selfish they were, and had to deal with that," said John Calipari, who led Kentucky to the National Title two seasons ago and has reached the Final Four a total of 4 times throughout his Division I coaching career. "But we really didn't struggle the whole season. What happened was we found ourselves. We accepted roles. A lot of this is on me. We hadn't defined roles for them because we hadn't figured it out. I'm just happy we didn't run out of runway before we figured it out.”
While Calipari preps his team for what will certainly be a physical contest, Louisville’s Rick Pitino continues on the path toward another National Championship. Despite dropping a 73-66 decision to UK back in December, the former NBA head coach and National title winner at Kentucky understands what it takes to get to this point in the NCAA Tournament and he’s not going to use the previous loss as a motivational tool. Instead, the 61-year-old New York City native will let his player focus on the task at hand – taking care of business in the Sweet 16.
“I think more than anything else you have a lot of preparation time this week and you try your best to figure out a team,” Pitino said. “This is probably one of the more difficult ones that I have faced as a coach, because they have so many weapons that are playing well right now. And we understand what we're up against. But I can tell you very honestly, with all humility, that I know Kentucky in that locker room are not worried about my resumé, they're worried about Russ Smith, Luke Hancock, Montrezl Harrell. Because every game is different that you play. I know we have a very good basketball team. They have a very good basketball team. It should be a heck of a game.”
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 8 Kentucky: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
DATE: Friday, March 28
TIME: 9:45pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: CBS
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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